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Published date: 15/07/2010
In a report based on research among its members, '21st Century Government: Adding value, cutting the deficit', the MCA says spending on management consulting totalled 640 million last year - below the Government's own figure on consultancy expenditure, which includes investment outside Whitehall and spending on other forms of consulting, such as legal and PR, as well as on the use of contractors and interim managers.
The MCA reports that around 75% of management consulting work in central government is commissioned because of a lack of specialist skills and that 40% of spending on consultants is for programme and project management, particularly complex, high-profile projects.
While most management consultancies say there has been a more intelligent approach to buying their services across government since the National Audit Office report on consultancy in 2006, they believe the use of consultancy should be measured on outcomes and value delivered, and that government statistics should distinguish management consulting from work by contractors and interim managers to cover staff vacancies.
Commenting on the research, MCA chief executive Alan Leaman said: 'It makes economic as well as practical sense to draw on outside expertise whenever it is cost-effective to do so. The coalition government will need access to the best skills that are available outside government to achieve its ambitious objectives, particularly a step change in public sector productivity. Many of the best and most radical approaches to public service provision originate in the consulting industry.'
